Chapter Two

Kassidy didn’t stop sneezing until she reached her mother’s office. Once the door shut behind her she sank into the nearest chair and caught her breath. Dropping the hat on the floor, she shook her head in disgust.

“Again with the sneezing. Figures it happens when a handsome man is around. Not that I should be surprised, that’s how my luck goes.” Getting up from the seat, she moved to her mom’s desk and searched for a pen and paper to leave her a note. Chewing on her lower lip, Kassidy chuckled. “He was all kinds of fine though.”

She jotted the message and grabbed her hat and keys. Walking down the corridor, Kassidy smiled at staff members she passed. At the front, she noticed it still rained heavily, so Kassidy paused at the information desk.

“Hey, Lucy,” she said, sitting on an empty chair and reaching for a stack of messy pamphlets.

“Hey again, Kassidy. You headin’ out already?”

Kassidy looked at her friend. Lucy had a bubbly personality, a beautiful smile, and the biggest brown eyes Kassidy had ever seen. The woman stood five-foot-nothing and was nothing but curves. Her short asymmetrical hairstyle highlighted her stunning brown face.

“Just promised mom I’d drop off the pamphlets I still had in my car. But… I think I’ll wait out this storm.”

“Good. I haven’t talked to you in a while. Now tell me more about that tall chocolate piece of fineness who was here.” She batted her eyes. “He wanted to know if you worked here.”

“Really?” Kassidy smiled at that bit of news.

“Who is he? A beau?”

“No. I just met him today, Lucy. Don’t see men like him much anymore,” Kassidy said on a sigh. “Not much at all.”

“Amen to that,” Lucy commented.

Kassidy fell into helping out behind the counter easily. She’d done it many times before. So in tune with what she was doing, Kassidy jumped when Lucy nudged her.

“What?”

“Go. The rain’s stopped.”

Lifting her head and glancing through the glass front, Kassidy realized Lucy was right. It had. “Thanks, Lucy. I totally missed that.”

She chuckled. “I would too if I were dreaming of that chocolate covered hunk of a man.”

Kassidy blushed but didn’t deny it. It was true, her mind had been on him. Justice Graham. With a wave to her friend, Kassidy headed out into the humid and muggy afternoon. The sky showed definite promise of delivering more rain so she didn’t tarry. Big fat drops began to fall seconds after she shut her car door.

With a smile, Kassidy began driving through the coastal city of Quiet Harbor, North Carolina. She loved it here. This was her town. She’d been born and raised here. Turning onto her street, Kassidy sighed contentedly when she saw her house. It wasn’t all that big, but it had been her grandmother’s and was now all hers. The front walkway sat lined by mixed carpet phlox and scarlet flame phlox, welcoming visitors with their vibrant colors. Numerous other plants were in the front yard as well: hydrangeas, azaleas, climbing roses clung to the porch, and also wisteria.

Parking in the drive, Kassidy grabbed her purse and ran for the protection of the porch. The air was filled with the scent of the rain and the fragrance of all the flowers that were in bloom. It was with a smile that Kassidy opened the door to her home.

“I’m home,” she announced, unnecessarily for her dog already stood there waiting. “Hey, Libby,” she said patting her affectionately.

Libby was a standard poodle; a retired show dog that now went to work with Kassidy most days. Libby, being a trained therapy dog, was used to help children learn to read better.

“Sorry I didn’t take you today, but I spent most of the day running errands. I’ll take you with me tomorrow.”

Kassidy let Libby out briefly then talked to her, telling her about her day as she made some dinner. “Oh, Libby, he was something else. There was such a quiet strength about him.”

Justice Graham was on her mind as she cleaned up from dinner and took Libby for her nightly walk. I can’t get him out of my head.

Kassidy’s dreams were filled with flashes of him. His deep sensual voice, the way his hand felt curved around hers and the ease in which he helped her to her feet. His dark eyes were still there when she woke. The ride to work was quiet. There was no more rain and the traffic didn’t seem as bad. Inside the library, Kassidy had just gotten Libby settled on her bed when her cell phone began to ring.

“Man, thought I shut this off.” Casting a guilty glance around, Kassidy ignored Libby’s reproachful look and answered, “Hello?”

“Hey, woman, good morning!”

Lucy. “What’s up? And good morning to you, too.”

“Just wanted to see if you felt like going out with me tonight.”

“Dinner? Or are you talking out to the club?”

“Bar. I want you to meet my boyfriend. He’s a bartender at Billy’s.”

Billy’s? “I haven’t been out to a bar in a while. Sure, why not. What time?”

“Eight-thirty work?”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll see you there.”

“Awesome. Thanks, Kassidy. See you then.” Lucy hung up and Kassidy turned off her phone.

She kept busy. There were five reading groups scheduled throughout the day. It was more than usual and so Kassidy kept a close eye on Libby to see for the first sign of strain or stress. Libby handled it like a trooper. She did sleep on the ride home.

Kassidy showered, dressed, and got directions to Billy’s. Leaving some treats down for Libby, Kassidy left with keys in hand. The bar seemed busy when she arrived. There were people hanging out on the deck, looking out over the ocean. Scanning the area, Kassidy smiled when her gaze picked out Lucy.

“Hey there!” Lucy said as they briefly hugged.

“So tell me why I haven’t met this man before?” Kassidy asked.

Lucy’s dark skin flushed. “I wasn’t sure about introducing him to people.”

Kassidy arched a brow. “Why?”

“I want you to meet him,” Lucy hedged. “Come on.”

Allowing herself to be tugged along, Kassidy questioned, “Do I at least get to know his name?”

“Ed.”

Okay, she’s not giving me much here. “Ed.” Tugging her hand, Kassidy stopped her friend. “Lucy. What gives? No last name?”

“Ed Amsel.”

“Thank you. Now, let’s go get me introduced.”

“Okay.”

Arm in arm they walked inside the bar.